Quality Sporrans for less money

[Troglodyte]

Well there's less than an hour to go and the bidding for both has risen dramatically.

The ginger one with the nice broguing/pinking is just shy of $200, in truth still a bargain, less than half of what one would be today if you could get one made like that.

I wonder how high they'll go.

You're dead right there..!

Finally selling for £146 ($198) is pricey in a way, but still a brgain for that particular sporran. Here's a modern version but without the stud-work, dedicted strap, etc.

https://houseoflabhran.com/vintage-b...igskin-sporran


I wonder if Scotts still have their original templates, patterns, etc, and if they would be willing to start making the vintage style again. Surely there's a market for them..?

[OC Richard]

I wonder if Scotts still have their original templates, patterns, etc, and if they would be willing to start making the vintage style again. Surely there's a market for them..?

That's a great question.

Their business model since around WWII has been to progressively simplify their manufacturing, getting rid of little elegant touches one by one.

I wonder what the state of their "corporate memory" is. Sometimes old firms are entirely staffed by new people who are clueless as to what the firm was doing only 20 years ago, sometimes old firms have people who have worked there a half-century who have detailed knowledge of the firm's history.

It was like that where I worked. When I started at Disneyland in 1989 there were still people who had worked there since 1955. There were people everywhere who worked there "in the day" (Walt's day, he died in 1966). One by one they retired till nobody who knew Walt was left. When I retired last year I was the last person in my department who had worked there in the 20th century.

Yes with the success of Margaret Morrison one would think that WE Scott could introduce a "heritage line" of sporrans with all the artistry and craftsmanship of their 1930s work.

[RGM1]

You're dead right there..!

Finally selling for £146 ($198) is pricey in a way, but still a brgain for that particular sporran. Here's a modern version but without the stud-work, dedicted strap, etc.

https://houseoflabhran.com/vintage-b...igskin-sporran


I wonder if Scotts still have their original templates, patterns, etc, and if they would be willing to start making the vintage style again. Surely there's a market for them..?

I was outbid, oh well. Thought it was a nice specimen.

[OC Richard]

I just threw together this little collage of WE Scott (Edinburgh) vintage and newer examples of the same model "AZSF."

On the back they went from that deeply stamped "Made In Scotland" stamp to using the familiar oval gold-ink "Made In Scotland Real Leather" stamp (for 40 years or so) to replacing the stamp with a sticker.

Since these tend to fall off there are tons of unmarked WE Scott sporrans.

Look at the attention paid to just the tab on back.

[OC Richard]

I was outbid, oh well. Thought it was a nice specimen.

Sorry to hear that, it was a very nice specimen indeed.

I won the other one, the simple Nicoll Brothers sporran. I mainly was after the lovely vintage long-link chain strap.

I'll probably sell the sporran and my two modern long-link chain straps to offset the cost.

[Troglodyte]

Sorry to hear that, it was a very nice specimen indeed.

I won the other one, the simple Nicoll Brothers sporran. I mainly was after the lovely vintage long-link chain strap.

I'll probably sell the sporran and my two modern long-link chain straps to offset the cost.

I'm with you regarding the nice chain-strap...

I currently have a couple of the same model of sporran, both by Nicolls but only one carries their maker's stamp. Both are also new-old-stock, and I think the unbranded one was a kind of 'white label' product for the retailer to add their own label.

Now, Nicolls ceased production about 20 years ago now, so these have been languishing away in a store somewhere, waiting for use.

DSCF7222.jpg DSCF7223.jpg DSCF7236.jpg DSCF7238.jpg

[OC Richard]

WE Scott seal Evening sporran £5.

The seal has a very nice pattern. The cantle is the "D" style.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/37638888848...Bk9SR_qFiNT9ZQ

[RGM1]

WE Scott seal Evening sporran £5.

The seal has a very nice pattern. The cantle is the "D" style.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/37638888848...Bk9SR_qFiNT9ZQ

If my bid is successful, I will sell off my other sporran of similar material.

[geomick]

to paraphrase Indiana Jones "why'd it have to be seal"

I'd hate to win an auction, pay for the item and the shipping charges and have USA customs take it away.

[OC Richard]

to paraphrase Indiana Jones "why'd it have to be seal"

I'd hate to win an auction, pay for the item and the shipping charges and have USA customs take it away.

I've heard tons of stories of people shipping seal into the US with no problem. (Personally I won't take the risk.)

The biggest head-scratcher to me are all the Pakistani-made seal sporrans that are sold through Ebay and shipped to US buyers, or sold through any one of numerous US retail shops. (I see piles of seal Pakistani-made sporrans at every tat shop at our local Highland Games.) Of course Pakistani firms violate tons of US clothing laws all the time.

On the flip side, I had a HORSEHAIR sporran I bought on Ebay from a UK seller get seized, not by US Customs, but by Ebay's Global Shipping Program facility in the UK.

Evidently it was part of a far larger scam where persons unknown at the UK Ebay facility labelled parcels bound overseas as "undeliverable" or "forbidden items" then turned around and auctioned the parcels off, pocketing the money.

In my case it was easy to piece together what happened because the guy who bought the "forbidden" horsehair sporran I won put it right back up on Ebay. I communicated with both people and got both sides of the story; neither had a clue they were part of the scam.